In the treatment of teeth and/or gums, it is desirable that the treatment material be effectively delivered to the teeth or gums so that such material is in an activated form when placed in contact with the teeth or gums. A suitable appliance useful for such purpose is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,947 issued to M. H. Newman on Jul. 31, 1990. As described therein, a horseshoe-shaped, foamed polymer dental appliance has an aqueous treatment solution distributed therein so that when the appliance is positioned over the teeth and gums of a patient, the treatment solution is readily applied thereto. The appliance need only be left in the patient's mouth for several minutes in order for an effective treatment to take place. Such treatment solution may be, for example, a fluoride solution, a bleach solution, or any other effective treatment solution.
Normally, the treatment solution is added to the foamed polymer during manufacture of the appliance and the wetted appliance is then shipped in an hermetically sealed pouch, or bag, for subsequent opening and removal of the appliance for use on a patient. Alternatively, a dry vacuum-formed dental impression tray appliance can be shipped in one package or container and the treatment solution shipped in a suitable vial or other container, which is separate therefrom. A dentist, or dental hygienist, for example, then must open both containers and apply the treatment solution to the dry foam polymer appliance before applying it to the patient.
Neither of the above techniques is satisfactory. In the first approach, the treatment solution may be physically squeezed from the foam polymer appliance and the drug may degrade due to oxidation. The foam polymer appliance then contains a reduced amount thereof and the treatment effectiveness is reduced. In the second approach, the handling of both the appliance and the solution may contaminate them, and also is inconvenient and untidy. Furthermore, the application of solution to the appliance is often inefficiently performed so that its treatment effectiveness is also reduced.
It is desirable to devise a technique for handling a foam polymer appliance and a treatment solution in an antiseptic, easy-to-use, and efficient manner which assures a uniform distribution of solution throughout the foam polymer material so that the treatment effectiveness is maximized.